Recruit New Talent Through Social Media

Americans today are turning to social media when researching everything from travel, to dining options, to retail shopping. Is it any surprise that Americans are turning to social media when searching for a new job as well? According to CareerArc.com, 79 percent of job seekers today are using social media in their job search, a number that increases to 86 percent for younger job seekers who are in the first 10 years of their careers.

As a municipal human resource manager, your job is to recruit talented individuals looking to make a difference in your community and on-board them into your administrative team. To give yourself the best opportunities to find and recruit talented prospects, you’ll need to leverage every possible tool and resource available, especially social media. If yourlocal government is new to using social media for job candidate recruitment, consider these proven recruiting methods that will help you harness the power of social media to find the right local talent.

Start by Establishing Your Social Brand

Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn management combined share over 535 million users, making them all effective social media sites for posting available job positions. Keep in mind, however, that one of the first things a prospect is going to do when they see your job post is research your community – using social media. If you haven’t already done so, be sure to establish a quality social media “brand” presence for your local community. Make sure you have an active Facebook page, Twitter account, and LinkedIn page. Review any existing content to make sure it is current and ensure you have a strategy for keeping it updated. Your social media accounts should be active and should help to demonstrate not only what a great community you have, but how great it would be to work for your local government.

Attract Passive Job Candidates

In today’s post-recession economy, almost everyone is a passive job seeker, meaning that while they may not be actively sending out resumes and attending job fairs and candidate interviews, they are still watching for new, or better opportunities to advance their careers. By posting available positions to social media, you are able to gain the attention of potential candidates who may not have otherwise found your job posting because they aren’t actively searching job listings on recruitment websites or your civic website. To gain the attention of prospective employees who aren’t following your municipality on social media currently, you can purchase paid social media advertising and target who sees your ads by establishing demographic and geographic ad criteria.

Tell Followers that You’re HiringYou can notify the social community that you are hiring through more than just posts and tweets. Update the first 200 characters of your community’s LinkedIn profile with a message that you are recruiting for new civic leaders, or add a recruitment banner to your Facebook and Twitter pages. Such prominent messaging will help drive prospective candidates to your job listings.

Integrate Social Messages into Your Local Government Website

If you’re going to leverage social media for recruiting, make sure you gain as much traction out of each post as possible. By integrating your social media posts right onto your local government website’s homepage, you’ll amplify the reach of each social media job posting.

Don’t Just Post – Search

Posting available job positions is an important step in the talent recruitment process, but LinkedIn allows you to go one step further by conducting your own proactive talent search. Join LinkedIn groups where you will be likely to find relevant prospects. For example, are you looking for a new communications officer? Join a communication group and see who in the community is actively sharing ideas and proving themselves knowledgeable in their field. They may be an excellent candidate that you may want to contact directly regarding your open position.

Use Social Media as a Step One Verification Process

Another way to use social media to enhance your recruitment process is to vet prospective candidates by reviewing their online profiles. When you begin to receive applications from candidates, check to see if they have a LinkedIn profile. If they do, is it updated? Does it reflect relevant job experience for the position in which they are applying? Have they received recommendations from managers and peers? Are they involved in relevant groups and participating in community dialogue? While not definitive indicators of an applicant’s qualifications, a review of an applicant’s social media presence may help with the initial screening and vetting process.

If your goal is to bring talented and dedicated candidates into your local government administration, your recruiting efforts have to leverage the power of social media. With millions of citizens scrolling through social messages every day, you have the power to amplify your recruitment strategy and identify the ideal candidates qualified to make an impact in your community. #Recruitment. #Winning.

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